


Destiny Knot

by Taba



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, 響け! ユーフォニアム | Hibike! Euphonium (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Pokemon Platinum
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2020-08-23 18:54:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20247667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taba/pseuds/Taba
Summary: You'd think that it'd be easier to avoid a single girl in the entirety of Sinnoh, but somehow Kumiko finds herself inexorably led into Reina's path.





	1. Entry Hazards

After the eighth Starly, Kumiko was starting to have second thoughts about this whole Pokemon Trainer gig. 

You see, the path to becoming The Very Best was a well worn road, trodden by names like Red and Blue, Gold, Lance, Steven, Cynthia… Leave home, train up your Chosen Partner, conquer all the gyms, defeat the Elite Four and Champion, get a bunch of medals and fame and stuff, go and compete in tournaments around the world. Kumiko's ambitions didn't stretch that high at all, but she had always been decent at the whole battling thing. Decent enough, in fact, to be one of the few students allowed to go off on her own with just a Piplup by her side at the start of her "high school" year. And it wasn't as if Kumiko had anything better to do other than school, where she was a little worse than decent. 

The issue with that whole plan was that all the TV shows and interviews and novels they made about the whole process almost entirely glossed over the pain in the butt the constant wild Pokemon would give her. Did she smell like Poffin or something? All she wanted was to just get to the next city over, and yet she had to basically fight an entire horde of low level Pokemon before getting anywhere. Not for the first time, Kumiko longed for the presence of her father's Lapras, which handily deterred most encounters whenever they needed to go to 

Jublife. Or really just… anything that would stem the endless flow of fodder.

"Biiiiid - oof!" The Bidoof's "surprise" leap attack was cut short by her Piplup smacking it out of the air, causing it to fall to the ground with a soft, fluffy  _ whoomp _ and knocking it out pretty much immediately. The first time the penguin had knocked one of the wild encounters out after a short scuffle, Kumiko had felt a momentary sense of accomplishment - she'd done it many times with rentals and in classroom environments, but that first battle with a Pokemon of her own was something special, and the young Trainer couldn't help but be a little sentimental. The first small accomplishment in the long road ahead - the first sign of something grand. Then the second, and the third, and the fourth signs came, and that sentimentality was quickly replaced by just annoyance. 

Not to say that her unnamed-as-of-yet Piplup wasn't doing a good job. Indeed, getting to build a bond with her new partner definitely made the experience more bearable, even if they were by repeatedly smacking down small woodland creatures. He was taking it all in stride, seemingly, The penguin gave a short encouraging chirp to her, as if he could read her mind. Maybe he could; starter Pokemon were famously well-attuned to human habits. There was a reason why being selected was a big deal, after all. Magic mind reader or not, though, the Pokemon seemed to be giving off a quiet aura of confidence, and Kumiko felt a little shame at wanting to throw the towel in already. Shaking her head just a bit, Kumiko refocused herself on the task ahead - 

A piercing cry rang out, and yet another wild Pokemon made its presence known. "Starrr!"

\- Which, apparently, was beating up every Pokemon in the entire Route. Only one and a half kilometers until Jubilife…

\---

As she entered the Pokemon Center, Kumiko silently swore to herself to never mention any of this to anyone, ever. There definitely was a reason why they didn't mention these parts in all the stories - it was boring, dull, tiring, and not interesting. Which, coincidentally, was what she'd nicknamed the last 4 wild appearances before finally shuffling into the city proper.    
  


Normally, it'd take about an hour or two to make it to Jubilife by foot going at a decent pace. Unfortunately, the life of a Pokemon Trainer was apparently highly abnormal - she'd left just after lunch, and yet the sun was completely gone when Kumiko plodded into the Center, dirty and very much wanting a nice soft bed to sleep in. The nurse barely batted an eye at Kumiko's state, just taking the Pokeball containing a fairly battered but also fairly pleased Piplup and healing him back to tip-top shape. Just in case, though, she sent the penguin out for appraisal - not that she didn't trust the Center, no, she just wanted to see it with her own eyes. A little silly, perhaps, but it felt better than just leaving him in the ball.

"You alright?" She asked. It still felt a little silly talking to a Pokemon, truth be told, but her words were most likely getting through. Her new partner chirped once in response, not sounding particularly put out. Well, Kumiko wasn't exactly going to appear on Pokemon Whisperer, but from the sound of it Piplup was fine. She decided to leave him to his own devices for a bit, since she should get some "Socializing and Bonding with New Pokemon" in, and tiredly sidled over to the Trainer's rooms. 

Stifling a large, large yawn as she did so, Kumiko tapped the… that did not feel like a keypad at all. Too warm, too fabricy, too firm. Kumiko opened her heavy eyes to meet with another violet pair, staring at her quizzically, and then immediately regretted that decision. 

"Uuuuuuhhhhh… Heeello, Kousaka-san," Kumiko said with minimal panic in her voice. Hopefully minimal, at least. She wondered whether she somehow offended some kind of prankster Pokemon, and this was how it had decided to torment her - unproductive, yes, but much better than actively considering the situation in front of Kumiko. Of all the people to have run into (much less accidentally jab in the stomach with her ID), it had to be Kousaka Reina. A competitive prodigy, elegant beauty, and also Kumiko's old classmate from middle school, the two of them had never really interacted beyond occasional pleasantries until the very end of school, where Kumiko had basically offended her, her skills, her tutor, her parents, her ancestors, her soul, and everything she ever stood for all in one fell swoop. Well, she wasn't quite sure about most of that, but that's what it  _ felt  _ like, and it's not like she thought she'd have the opportunity to ever confirm that. Kumiko would have guessed that Reina would have moved out and started in some big city rather than doing things the old fashioned way, and while Jublife technically qualified as that it wasn't exactly a hotbed of Pokemon training. 

Reina, as always, was content to simply barrel through any sort of potential awkwardness. "Please move," she said politely but firmly. With a squeak not unlike that of a Rattata, Kumiko practically leapt aside to escape the conversation, Reina taking long purposeful strides past her. Sighing to herself at the sudden tension and then release, Kumiko successfully tapped in with her shiny new Trainer ID and looked around for Piplup, who was… nowhere to be seen? No, Piplup was following Reina, waddling along and making little noises seemingly to himself. If her old classmate heard, she gave no sign of slowing down or really of acknowledging Kumiko's wayward starter at all. Kumiko hissed at the Pokemon to come back to her side, waving her arms threateningly, but he was still more interested in tagging along with Reina's coattails.

Finally, Piplup managed to waddle on over and actually grab the shorter girls attention, giving a hopefully light peck on Reina's leg. He hadn't even learned the formal Peck, so it probably wasn't a big deal, but Kumiko still winced at the idea (and, just maybe, she was apprehensive of having to talk with the girl again.) When Reina turned back, Piplup looked up, giving an inquisitive "Pip" to Reina. Both humans stared at the Pokemon expectantly, but only Kumiko seemed to be feeling the awkwardness. Piplup chirped again, trying to get something across that they just seemed to not be getting. Reina even tried to turn around but Piplup kept on attempting to get her attention. Kumiko scurried over, not exactly wanting to be too close but also dying of second-hand embarrassment (especially since it was her Pokemon and it definitely reflected poorly on her). Piplup turned back to Kumiko, staring up at her like a particularly precocious child, and Kumiko stared blankly back. It was really too late for this…

Just then, a thought occurred to her. "Kousaka-san, your Pokemon."

"Mmm?" She sounded inquisitively. 

"Send it out. The starters, uh, were kept together, right? Maybe they were like friends." Kumiko left out exactly how Piplup figured out that Reina was carrying around his old friend, but it made some sense at least. He even nodded along with the explanation. Reina blinked, then visibly seemed to reappraise...  _ something _ . Before Kumiko could dwell on that too much, a Chimchar popped out from Reina's promptly thrown Pokeball, peering around in surprise. The Pokemon's eyes lit up as it saw Piplup, and they did some kind of greeting to each other in recognition. Kumiko gave a sigh of relief as she'd finally cracked the code, although by doing so she left herself basically trapped in either conversation or awkward silence with Reina. 

The silence didn't last long, which surprised Kumiko just a bit. She didn't think that Reina would go out of her way to talk to her, especially given their… rough history. "Thank you." 

"Eh? I didn't do anything."

"You figured out what your Piplup wanted, and quickly." A nonchalant shrug. "That's good enough for me. " 

"Well, sure..." Kumiko glanced back at their Pokemon... playing together, it seemed, then looked back at Reina, who was staring very intently at Kumiko for some reason. Kumiko flinched, but something about those eyes made it impossible to look away, and her heart had picked up in tempo fairly significantly. Was there something on her face? Kumiko really hoped that she hadn't missed anything too major, even as grimy as she was. Or, even worse, was she still angry about earlier? Various fantasies played out in her mind's eye, each more catastrophic than the last.

"You're a trainer, aren't you?" she asked, just as Kumiko's nervousness was growing to a pitch.

"Y-yeah?" came the stammered reply. 

Reina nodded to herself, even though she definitely should have known the answer. "And we've made eye contact, haven't we."

"Yes..."

"Then we have to battle, don't we?" Reina asked with the telltale voice of someone who already knew what answer she wanted to hear. Kumiko groaned internally - while it technically was in the rules, there was a reason most people had started to ignore it. 

"Now? I mean, it's like… 10, already, and I need a shower, and - and my Pokemon's been fighting all day." Kumiko meekly stammered out her objection, but Reina was having none of that, pointing wordlessly at the very excited Chimchar and the more subdued Piplup playing with each other. She sighed, knowing that there was probably no way out of this.

"Go shower first. I'll wait for you." Reina said, eyes turned to observe their starters. 

One quick shower and one not-so-quick attempt to dry and get her hair in an even barely controlled fashion, and Kumiko opened the shower door looking somewhat renewed. Absentmindedly, she wondered what kind of stuff Reina did to maintain her own hair - even now, it looked as smooth and silky as it had the day of graduation. What would it feel like to touch it, Kumiko thought…

"Pip!" 

With a start, Kumiko came back to reality as her Pokemon waddled over to her and tapped her on the leg again. Having thus gotten his trainer's attention, Piplup did an abrupt about-face, leading Kumiko back to his playmate and soon-to-be opponent. Reina looked back up almost as soon as she headed back out into the Pokemon Center proper, clearly waiting on her. "Let's go," she said, and turned around without even looking back to see if Kumiko would follow. Kumiko vaguely considered breaking away and just hiding in her room until Reina left, but at the same time she had the impression that Reina would just camp outside of her room were she to try that.

And thus, Kumiko followed Reina silently into the heavily soundproofed battling room downstairs. If and when she got into the higher powered Pokemon tiers, the favorable conditions this meant for certain types and species would become an issue, but as of now "battling" was basically only a single step up from the playing Chimchar and Piplup were doing beforehand. Reina took the position at the far end, and Kumiko meekly assumed the opposite position. With the press of a button, the countdown timer started; Reina sent out Chimchar again, and Piplup waddled to the center of their side, Kumiko unable to coax him back in the ball for such a short amount of time. A certain apprehension came across her - even though her actions had close to no impact on the outcome of this fight, it was still her very first trainer battle, and it felt… important. She tensed up as the timer counted down to 3, then 2, then 1…

Piplup and Chimchar sprung into action, although that action consisted mostly of slapping each other with Pounds and Scratches. Kumiko felt more than a little silly at the prospect of cheering her Pokemon on, so she just waited silently and anxiously for the fight to finish. Reina was doing much the same, although she doubted that there was any anxiousness in her opponent's steady, appraising gaze. It wasn't a very dynamic fight - the two Pokemon just kept trading blows back and forth without any other considerations. It did seem like Chimchar's minor speed advantage would give it the upper hand, even able to dodge some of Piplup's clumsier attacks while being able to get the first blow in on trades. Reina was almost certainly going to win this bout, but Piplup (and hopefully by proxy Kumiko) was giving a good fight. 

Just like that, Chimchar jumped in, dealing a vicious scratch at Piplup's left shoulder, and he finally slumped over in defeat. Reina's Pokemon cheered, but then nearly collapsed itself, clearly also winded. Kumiko sighed, but there wasn't much more she could ask of either Piplup or herself. Reina nodded approvingly at Chimchar before recalling them, then refocused on Kumiko. "Good match," she said.

"I mean..." Kumiko trailed off, but her silence probably spoke for her. She recalled her fainted Piplup, tucking him away safely in her bag. 

Reina shrugged. "It's mostly a formality at this point, obviously. We are just starting out, so starter choice and luck dictates most of it." She took the same measured pace back over to Kumiko's side. "But thank you for indulging me."

"Indulging? I mean, we locked eyes. You said so yourself, right?"

"Yes, but you could very easily have refused, or turned back, or even just forfeited. But you still came out here at..." Reina checked her phone quickly. "10:34, and without much fuss." 

Kumiko didn't really know how to respond, although at least she'd managed to at least avoid being tongue-tied. "Uhh, you're welcome?"

Reina acknowledged the statement with a short nod, and then turned to head back up. Kumiko almost let her go, but there was something that made her call out to her, some lingering regret. "Wait!"

Reina paused, already at the foot of the stairs, then turned around. Her head was cocked inquisitively, although she didn't say anything. It looked like the floor was Kumiko's.

"I, uh, just wanted to apologize for what I said, all that while ago. I-it's not like I  _ wanted _ to offend you or anything, I was just, uh, you know? I just didn't think that it was really realistic, because it would have really been out of the ordinary if we - "

"When you asked me whether I really thought we could win that first doubles tournament." Reina's eyes didn't reveal a single thing, but Kumiko still felt unimaginable pressure radiating off of her.

"Y-yes?" 

Reina blinked once, then smiled, and Kumiko let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding. "Heh." She…  _ chuckled?  _ "It seemed like something you'd say, is all." Before Kumiko could even begin to figure out what that meant, Reina brought a hand up to her bangs, flipping her long hair out in a sweepingly luxurious fashion, and Kumiko gulped as she took in the frankly beautiful sight. Even the plain lighting of the underground gym seemed like it was a shining spotlight on the other girl, and the sight was burning itself into her mind. "Solo is more my style, anyways," she said, eyes shining.

And then the moment was over as soon as it had begun, and Reina turned back towards the stairs again seemingly heedless of the effect she'd had on Kumiko. It wasn't until she had slipped out of sight that Kumiko felt herself come back to reality, slumping over as her exhaustion returned in full force. What was that all about? 

Kumiko's first day as a trainer ended fitfully, confused but also strangely encouraged. Despite her extremely long day, she found herself wide awake in bed, replaying the conversation again and again in her mind. She felt no closer to understanding just what had happened that night or just what to conclude about what Reina had said. It definitely hadn't gone badly, not even close, but then how had it gone? Did this mean that she'd forgiven her? When she finally drifted to sleep, she still had no answers, but her dreams featured long, silky strands of hair and an enigmatic smile. 


	2. Double Team

In the morning, Reina was gone. She'd left early in the morning, according to the nurse at the front desk. Not that she really thought that she'd actually wait for her, but suffice it to say that the other girl had left a huge impression on her in their chance run-in. 

  
In any event, though, she still did have more things to do on her own, so she tried to shake off both the lingering sleepiness and the lingering morass of emotions. Piplup, a much better morning… morning creature than Kumiko, was already ready to beat down yet more Starlies and Bidoofs, and chirped encouragingly at his trainer. She nodded, feeling more sure about herself.

She definitely wanted to get some warm food in the morning, though, so she headed to a nearby cafe for breakfast. Yeah, there was the Center food, but presumably she'd be having more than enough of that in the future. Sitting down at the cafe and placing an order quickly, Kumiko started taking mental inventory of what she needed for the upcoming trip. Definitely some Pokeballs, at the very least, and some kind of road food… 

"Heya!" A spirited voice rang out. It was much, much too cheery for this early in the morning, and Kumiko responded with a very intelligent "Bwahhhh!" of surprise. The voice belonged to a athletic-looking brunette with a boyish haircut around her age, eagerly looking at Kumiko. A Buneary trailed her, hopping along happily. "You're a Pokemon Trainer, aren't you?" Kumiko blinked a couple times, then nodded. The Piplup next to her pecking at a small dish of seeds they'd thrown in probably had given it away. 

"Great! Nice to meet you, by the way. I'm Katou Hazuki, and… Wait, Midori-chan, where'd you go?" Hazuki looked around, not seeing anything, and Kumiko took the moment to get another bite of her eggs. "She must have gotten distracted by something, probably? Or I went too fast. Anyways, what's your name?"   
  
"Uhhh… Oumae Kumiko."    
  
"Alright. Ummm, so I wanted to become a Contest Coordinator! … But, in order to do that, you usually have to make it through all the routes, and I kind of suck at battling." Hazuki scratched the back of her head a little sheepishly. "I kinda wish they'd let us just go normally, but because you're still managing the Pokemon they want you to develop a bond and all that. And also we still have to catch them ourselves, even if we don't have gym battles or anything. I'd really rather not get Bunbun all beat up..." She held the indicated bunny up, who seemed to be enjoying being the center of attention despite the topic.   
  
"... I see." Kumiko was pretty sure where this was going, but she let Hazuki take the lead anyways. "So?"

Hazuki bent down, letting Buneary hop back down onto the ground, and then continued. "Right! So, Midori and I were looking for a trainer, you know? Because she's, uh, kind of a collector, and her tastes in Pokemon are… well, beyond her abilities. You had a Pokemon and an ID, so we thought that you could help us out!" … Right, she was wearing it on a lanyard. At least Hazuki wasn't challenging to her a battle.

"I, uh -"   
  
"Oh, here she is! Hey, Midori-chan!" Hazuki waved at a very short girl who came dashing in, skidding to a halt excitingly. Unlike Hazuki, she didn't look that fit and indeed appeared to be somewhat sheltered, but she made up for it by an aura of unshakeable exuberance. Kumiko immediately decided that she, too, was too much for this early in the morning.    
  
"Who's this?" Midori said excitedly. 

  
"This is Kumiko-chan!" Hazuki replied in the same register. "She's a trainer from… Ah, I forgot to ask!"    
  
"Uhh, Twinleaf." 

"Right, real close by. She's starting off at the same time we are!" Hazuki said, tacitly including her into their little group already. 

"Really? Wow, is this your Pokemon?" She sidled up close to Piplup, who peered back at Midori cautiously. "A trainer with a starter! This has to be fate, right?" 

"Ahhhh, well..." Kumiko said, trying to at least put a hold on their enthusiasm. While admittedly it didn't seem like a terrible idea to have some company, they were moving about 3 times too fast for Kumiko to keep up.    
  
"A starter? What's that?" Hazuki asked, curiosity written plainly on her face. 

"Ah, they're special Pokemon species that are specifically picked out for starting trainers because of their suitability for training. You know, well adjusted to people, easy to care for and handle, suitable for many different styles, and best of all, cute!" Midori leaned down to Piplup, picking him up and putting it right up to Hazuki's face for a demonstration of what she meant. Kumiko almost moved to protest, but Piplup seemed to be taking the pampering in stride, so she acquiesced with a sigh. 

  
"Woahhh..." Hazuki said, poking Piplup in the cheek just a little. "Is that why all those famous people seem to have a Infernape? And do you think I could get one too?"

"If you want to be a battler, sure, but usually they don't give them out otherwise. All the researchers like to work with them too, so they're in somewhat short supply, and usually they train them to work with people beforehand as well." Kumiko had vague memories of a Piplup, Chimchar, and Turtwig following behind Professor Taki for a short while. Was her Piplup that same one? Probably not, but it was interesting to think about.

"Aww..." Hazuki pouted for a sec, then shook her head. "That's okay! I'm not battling much, so Bunbun will be fine, right?"    
  
"They're pretty much all fine if you just want to get from place to place and catch other Pokemon, yeah. Just have to work enough with them." Kumiko sighed. "And if they're good at dealing with Bidoofs, well, even better." 

"I just need to get her off the ground level, I think. She, uh… Well, I caught her without even having a Pokemon of my own, so I don't think she's that strong yet."   
  
"And your Buneary won't be able to help you catch any others?"

"I mean… probably not?" Hazuki looked down at her Buneary. "She's, you know." Kumiko flipped out her Pokedex under the table, discreetly scanning her newfound acquantaince's Pokemon. Level 2… wasn't going to go far, even against the Bidoofs of the world. 

"Where are you headed, then?" Midori asked.

"Eh? Couldn't we just follow you?" Hazuki asked, visibly confused. 

"Ah, remember that all the Contests are in Hearthome, and that's like, at least third in the Gym order. Kumiko might not get there for a while, you know?" Midori interjected, finger pointed upwards and waggled.    
  
"Uhh - well, yeah, obviously I do, but we're asking her for a favor, right? So we should go along with her instead." Hazuki rubbed the back of her head, having obviously forgotten but making an admirable recovery.    
  
"So you're trying to become a Coordinator, Katou-san?" 

"Hazuki is fine! But yeah, that seemed the coolest thing I could do!"    
  
"And the toughest, smartest, cutest, and most beautiful?" Midori chimed in, and Kumiko took the opportunity to sneak in some more egg.   
  
"I, uh, I guess?" Their rapport was truly a fearsome thing to behold, or at least Midori was.    
  
"And you, uh… Midori?"    
  
"I want to meet a ton of cute Pokemon." Midori's eyes were shining, and Kumiko wondered how so much cheerfulness could be contained in such a small frame. "Like Tyrannitar! Or Exeggutor! Or - " 

"We get it, we get it." Hazuki sighed. "Your taste is as strange as ever." Midori beamed cheekily at her friend, clearly not caring about her opinion. "Anyways, you're headed to Oreburgh, right? Could we tag along with you there?"

"Sure," Kumiko said. She'd made up her mind remembering how much of a pain wild Pokemon were, and they didn't seem like bad company to stave off the frustration. "When do you want to go? … Oh, and can you let Piplup go? He needs to finish breakfast." 

"Sorry, sorry!" She was more apologizing to the Pokemon than to Kumiko, but Kumiko was still finishing up her eggs whereas Piplup wasn't getting any of his food, so she supposed it was reasonable. Midori bent down, and gently opened her arms to let Piplup onto the ground again. "Anyways, we can go as soon as you finish. We've already eaten."    
  
"... Did you come in here just to talk to me, then?" Kumiko narrowed her eyes.    
  
"Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?" Hazuki grinned cheekily, and Kumiko couldn't be that frustrated at her brazenness.    
  
"Right… " Kumiko shook her head in played-up exasperation. "Let's go."

  
  


\--- 

Midori had brought way too much supplies and Hazuki was a little too eager to get her very weak Buneary to fight wild Pokemon, but despite that they were still making good time, and truth be told Kumiko was enjoying herself much more. The two novices still felt the magic of exploring for the first time, and their wonder was rubbing off on her.    
  
"Bunbun! You did it!" Hazuki cheered, running up as the Buneary pounded down a wild Bidoof and Midori rushed in to provide it with Potions, and Kumiko smiled a little at their antics. For her part, Bunbun looked noticeably winded even with the Potion usage keeping her in a decent physical shape, but still seemed as cheerful as ever. Kumiko mentally decided to let Piplup take the brunt of the fighting in the future just in case Hazuki and Midori let themselves get carried away with it and overwork the poor rabbit Pokemon.    
  


"Are you sure you want to use another Potion?" Kumiko asked hesitantly.    
  
"Wait, are they bad for them if used too much?" Hazuki's eyes widened, and she ran over to Midori still spraying the Potion.   
  
"No, it's fine!" Midori said cheerfully.    
  
"Yeah, it's fine for a Pokemon, but I meant like, they're not that cheap."   
  
"No, it's fine!"    
  
"If you say so…" Kumiko sighed again. "How many potions did you even bring, anyways?"

  
"Like, 25 or so. It's not like they'll go bad or anything, so we can use them later." Midori shuffled around in her comically large backpack, which seemed even more ridiculous on her small frame. How she was carrying it, Kumiko had no idea. "And a bunch of Pokeballs."

And yet all of them were empty. "Midori, why don't you have a Pokemon of your own?" Kumiko asked. She seemed more well prepared than the very novice Hazuki, and yet Hazuki was the one with the Buneary.   
  
"Well, you know, I didn't want any of the starters! They're boring. Cute, but boring." Piplup didn't seem too put out by Midori's statement, thankfully. And, well, Midori did seem like the type to make things harder on herself in order to stick with what she believed. "I'll just catch one that I really like!"   
  
"... How, exactly?"    
  
Midori shrugged. "I'm sure my chosen partner will come to me!" Well… "That, and you and Hazuki can help me."

"I see." Kumiko sighed. "Have either of you even tried yet?"   
  
"Bunbun was an adoption from a local center, and Midori's just a nerd." Midori stuck her tongue out at Hazuki, but didn't seem to refute the statement. "And you have?"   
  
"Yeah. Let's just… here, let's find some more wild Pokemon, and you guys can pick an example." 

  
"Well, it's gonna be your Pokemon, so you should pick!" Hazuki said. 

"Well..." Kumiko's thoughts were interrupted by another wild Pokemon appearance, this time from a Starly swooping down from a nearby grove of trees. She groaned, deciding that she'd just catch this Starly and be done with it. 

"Piplup, just try and pin it down, okay?" Kumiko said, her Pokemon nodding and stepping up to the wild Starly. The two engaged in a bit of a staredown, the Starly refusing to just throw itself in and instead regarding Piplup with an intense, imperious glare. It was still a wild Pokemon, though, and thus after a short bit it decided to fly in anyways. Piplup stood his ground, took the Tackle, and then countered with a Pound that definitely was an advantageous trade; with an angry squawk the bird flew off. Thankfully, it didn't seem like it was running away, instead circling above their group in the skies for another go. Once again, the Starly dive bombed towards the penguin Pokemon; once again the Starly ate a vicious Pound and was forced to retreat. 

Midori and Hazuki cheered, but Kumiko wasn't so happy. It looked as if one more solid hit might be the end, and yet the Starly seemed strong enough to put up a fight against the Pokeball. Pinning it wouldn't really work here... "Remember, I'm not trying to actually defeat or drive it off, I want to keep it here long enough to catch it. Especially with flying Pokemon, keeping it in one spot long enough to actually hit the throw is most of the challenge." Kumiko looked again at the Starly, thinking about its habits so far. "Or, in this case, maybe getting it to come to us." 

"Then why can't you just make it faint?" Hazuki asked. "That seems like it'd be easier."   
  
Kumiko kept her eyes trained on the Starly, who had reached a cruising altitude and seemed to be using the height advantage to recuperate a little. "Pokemon, ah, don't take too well to being knocked out and then captured most of the time, to the point where it's pretty much never done. Part of the issue is that you really don't want to catch a Pokemon that doesn't have natural inclination towards being a partner, especially with the more intelligent species, and a lot of more cooperative species still want to engage in a sort of duel to show that you're worthy of leading..."

"Ah, so you only want to catch Pokemon that want to be caught, but you still have to fight? That… doesn't really make sense. I mean - "

  
Hazuki was interrupted by the Starly making one more attempt at attacking. "Piplup, stay still!" Kumiko shouted, getting one of Midori's Pokeballs and lining it up with its flight path. As the Starly came in for one more hit, Piplup stood still and braced for impact instead of moving to counter immediately. The novice trainer threw the Pokeball right above Piplup's waiting head, nailing Starly square in the beak on its path downwards. The bird was enveloped in a red light, and Hazuki gave a little fist pump in celebration. Kumiko, however, was holding her breath, waiting as the Starly struggled with the Pokeball one, two, three times… 

The Pokeball clicked shut, and Kumiko breathed a sigh of relief. While it definitely wasn't out of the question for it to have worked right then and there, it was more likely than not for it to have taken two or three more attempts with how much strength the Starly still had. She turned back to Hazuki and Midori, who shared a very enthusiastic hi-five in celebration. "Stubborn..." Kumiko muttered. "Anyways, it's about honor, and like, beating it into their head? I don't know if that makes sense, so I can try to explain more."

Midori shook her head. "No, no, we're good. Right, Hazuki?" 

"Y-yeah! Although it might take a while to get to that point..." Hazuki sighed, looking at her Buneary resting in its Pokeball.    
  
"I mean, you can just have this Starly." There were probably about a dozen more within half a kilometer, anyways. 

Hazuki shook her head. "Nah, nah. You just were on about how you had to show that you were capable of winning against the Pokemon, so I'll do it the right way." She clenched a fist in determination. 

"You do get given your first Pokemon, though."    
  
"But not the second," Hazuki said, which could charitably be interpreted as brave. "I'll do it myself, thank you very much."    
  
"I suppose..." Kumiko sighed, but she had to admit that Hazuki's go-getter attitude was refreshing. She just hoped that it would last when faced with the realities of training an extremely weak Pokemon from the ground up. "Fine, let's get going."

.

"Wait, Kumiko! What are you going to name your Starly?" Midori asked.

"... Nothing? Piplup doesn't have a name either." Kumiko looked down at Piplup, who tilted his head to the right and chirped once. "Don't think he minds, either." The thought hadn't really crossed her mind, if she was being honest with herself.

"That's lame, though!" The shorter girl pouted with almost physical force. "Especially with the very first Pokemon you've caught! You have to name it something, okay?"

"S-sure?" Kumiko sat there blankly, racking her brain for anything usable. Names had never been her strong suit, even when not put on the spot, and thus this Starly was in grave danger of being named something extremely stupid. Already, she was facing a decision between "Raptor" and "Uuble", both of which were things she was not comfortable calling a potential partner.   
  


"How about Velociraptor?" Hazuki chimed in. Kumiko turned towards her, puzzled, but Midori's eyes shone with delight. "You know, because it's fast and becomes a Starraptor."   
  
"That's great, Hazuki! Plus, birds are descended from dinosaurs anyways, so it works in that way as well."

"... Uhh, sure, that too. Anyways, whaddya think, Kumiko? I know it's your Pokemon and all, but - "

"No, no, Velociraptor is a good name. A great name, even." Kumiko said, cutting her off before she could protest too much. It was definitely much better than any of the things she was coming up with. "Although..." Kumiko released the Pokemon in question from its ball. "Here, what do you think about being called Velociraptor?"   
  


Faced with 3 expectant stares, the Starly blinked once, chirped quickly, and then flapped its way onto Piplup's head, using the added height to stare imperiously at their chests rather than at their ankles. 

"So she likes it!" Midori cheered.   
  
"Close enough, anyways." Kumiko wasn't sure if the newly dubbed Velociraptor cared at all, or even if the Pokemon was in fact female, but at the very least they didn't seem to dislike the name. "Anyways, we should get going soon. Star- Velociraptor needs to be healed before we can start training them in earnest."   
  
"What should we call her for a shorter name, though?" Hazuki asked as the three of them started moving again. "I wouldn't want to say the whole thing all the time. Maybe Velo?" 

"I think Vel is better! Or, ooh, what about Vera?"    
  
"Like from Ve-loci-ra-ptor?" 

"Mhm! Kumiko, how about that?" 

"I'll just follow your lead on this one..." Kumiko sighed, but she was smiling as she did so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double Team: Raises the Pokemon's Evasion by one stage. In Wi-Fi battles, also lowers friendship by one stage. 
> 
> "Uuble" is UUBL, the Smogon-based designation for Pokemon just weak enough to have too low usage to count in OU, the main tier, but that are still too strong for the tiers below. Starraptor has been in UUBL every single generation it has existed, although in X/Y and ORAS it was pretty good on Birdspam teams to punch the shit out of things that resisted Talonflame and Mega Pinsir or just really tanky walls.

**Author's Note:**

> Entry Hazards:  
1\. Moves that damage or inflict status upon Pokemon whenever they enter battle. In Generation IV, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Stealth Rock are the only entry hazards. Removed from your side of the field by Rapid Spin, although any hazards on your opponent's field will remain.  
2\. The only thing keeping Moltres from terrorizing literally everything, apart from maybe Stone Edge spammers. Stealth Rock is dumb.


End file.
